How a Dixon says I'm sorry
by faegal04
Summary: Starting in season two before the barn opens, Daryl regrets calling Carol stupid and wants to make it right. This will be Caryl all the way, with all the other characters interacting...
1. Chapter 1

_**I just got some massive help with this from untapdtreasure-thank you so much, I appreciate it...**_

_**I am so nervous about this... this is my first fanfic story, I hope everyone likes it! I settled on starting in season 2 before the barn (I hope I got the dialogue mostly right) If enough are interested, I will loosely follow the storyline.**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, just borrowing the characters for my own and hopefully your own fun!**_

_** Thanks! Hope everyone enjoys!**_

She stood just outside the stable with a worried look on her face as she watched him struggle with the saddle. When he tried to lift it he faltered and she rushed forward. "What are you doing?"

"Goin' to look for her. Ain't no damn body else gonna do it!" Daryl growled.

"You can't!, Hershel said you needed rest. You almost died Daryl. We don't know if you are going to find her. I...I don't know if you'll find her." Carol's eyes welled with tears.

Daryl stopped moving and turned to look at her as the tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. He had never felt such rage, and an urge to protect someone at the same time. "Wha' didja just say?"

"I can't lose you, too," she said in a whisper.

He couldn't help himself. He threw the saddle away from him and stalked out of the stable. He muttered "Stupid bitch!". He had to get away from her before he turned into his asshole dad and slapped her.

Carol slowly collapsed onto the ground. She was sure that she was losing her mind. She hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. She thought, 'He probably thinks I'm crazy and useless.'

Daryl stomped across the campsite and started throwing all of his shit in a bag. Then started taking his tent down. He had to get away from all these people. He had been crazy thinking that he could be part of them.

Daryl could see Rick and Shane as they stepped down out of the RV. Daryl liked Rick, but he couldn't stand Shane. He knew he was the kind of cop that would have given him a hard time before the world went to shit.

"Hey man where ya goin?" Shane put his hands on his hips, looming over Daryl as he worked on packing away his belongings.

"None of your fuckin business, Walsh!" Daryl spat.

Rick didn't want any trouble between the two, so he stepped in between them. "Let's all calm down. Daryl, what happened?"

"I just gotta get away from all this shit. All these people makin me crazy. I ain't goin' far. Just the other side of the field is all. Then I'm a start looking for the girl again. Seein'as how nobody here is goin' out there. It's like ya'all don't even care that there's a lil girl out there scared to death, hungry, and missin' her mama. I know not a damn one of ya' give two shits about Carol..." Daryl's anger came out in a bubble of more words than most of them had heard him say all at once since they'd met him.

"Daryl, wait..." Rick held up his hand and stepped closer to Daryl.

"No, Rick. Not a fuckin one of ya ever say thank you to her for all the shit she does 'round here, and she does it all without complainin' 'bout it even with her lil girl missin'. Hell! That includes me I ain't never thanked her for cookin', doin' laundry, nothin'..." Daryl stopped, trying to catch his breath. He let the words he'd just spoke tumble around in his head. 'What the hell did I jus say that fer? Every last one of 'em is going to think I've lost my damn mind.'

Dale came down off the RV. "He's right. We've all been selfish." Dale chuckled when Daryl just looked over with his mouth hanging open not believin that the old man had actually sided with him. "Daryl, I'll help you move your camp to the other side of the field and then I would like to go with you to look for Sophia."

"M'kay'" mumbled Daryl. The only thing he kept thinking about as he worked was what he said to Carol. How he just left her standing in the stable crying. He felt awful for calling her a stupid bitch.

As they walked across the field, they both saw Carol sitting on a log. She was holding Sophia's doll that Daryl had brought back from his search yesterday. Dale noticed the way Daryl kept looking at Carol, and he couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't more to all this than everything that Daryl had let out in his outburst. Could it be that Daryl had feelings for Carol?

"Why you lookin at me like that, old man?" Daryl growled.

Dale just laughed. "It's nothing, son. Let's get you set up so we can start searching."

"Mmm, Dale?" Daryl dropped his things on the ground by the burned out reminants of a house.

"Yes, son?" Dale glanced around at him as he placed some of Daryl's things on the ground.

"I know you was married bfore, right?" Daryl screwed up his face and avoided lookin the old man in the eye.

"Yes, for over 25 years. Why do you ask?" Dale thought he knew where this was going, but he didn't want to assume.

"Did you ever say somethin' you wished you hadn't? I said some thing to Carol in the stable. Now I feel like an ass and wanna tell her sorry. Don't know how." Daryl moved about trying to make heads or tails out of his jumbled belongings.

Dale was quiet while looking at Daryl. He had never seen the man so unsure of anything. For him to ask for advice was almost unheard of. He took his time, carefully choosing the right words. "You know she's a simple woman. Mostly known pain so I think any little gesture would say it. Back before this all happened, men would give gifts. Chocolate, poetry..."

At this Daryl snickered which took Dale by surprise and made him laugh. "Yeah. Maybe not poetry. I saw how Carol looked at the rose you gave her for Sophia. Hell! She has been trying to keep it alive and make sure it gets plenty of sun and water. Just give her another and tell her you're sorry." He watched Daryl out of the corner of eye and saw the small half smile on his face and how he puffed his chest out thinking about it. "Son, I remember my wife getting so mad at me once. It was at the beginning of our marriage. I said something insensitive about her cooking. She wouldn't talk to me for a week. Even took to sleeping on the couch. She'd rather shoot me then look at me. I felt awful about it afterwards and tried to tell her how sorry I was every day after that. Brought her gifts. Nothing worked..."

Daryl stopped walking and looked at Dale. He nodded his head like he understood exactly the pain the old man felt as he spoke. "How'd ya' fix it?" he asked quietly.

"Well, I started every day with a good morning and then at the same time every evening, I would come up to her and ask her to just go for a walk with me. We didn't even have to talk. I left notes that told her how much she meant to me and ended every one with I'm sorry." Dale loved talking about Irma. He missed her terribly, but at the same time, he was greateful that she never had to see what the world had become now.

Daryl looked nervous and started chewing his thumbnail. " I ain't good with words or feelings an' shit."

Dale thought about the man he knew Daryl to be, and about what might work best of him to make things right with Carol. A smile graced his lips as he got a sudden thought. "I just thought of something that might work for you then."

_**...Well how was it, anybody want to know what Dale comes up with? Please review!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Sorry for the delay, am working on chapter 3 now. Special thanks to untapdtreasure she is awesome!**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing, wish I did though:)**_

Daryl finished setting his camp up with Dale's help, by the time they were finished it was to dark and unsafe to go into the woods.

"I'm going to head back Daryl. What time do you want to start searching tomorrow?" Dale glanced over at the redneck as the daylight faded fast into darkness.

"Well, I have late watch so first thing in the morning. The longer she is out there, the more scared she get. That means there is more chance for her to get hurt." Daryl's voice carried softly to Dale's ears.

Dale nodded his head and walked away. He paused beside the log on which Carol sat. "Carol, would you like to walk back to camp with me? I figure we could both use a little company."

That would be nice Dale. Thank you." Carol stood up, brushing herself off, and glanced over toward Daryl's camp. "He moved his camp. I think he might be pulling away from everybody because of me, and that isn't right." She nervously wrung her hands in front of her as they began to head back toward camp.

"He's fine Carol. He just felt like he needed some space. He isn't used to being in such close quarters all the time." Dale laid his hand gently on her back and guided her without seeming to.

Carol looked over her shoulder towards the quiet hunter and noticed he was looking right at her. She quickly turned her head. Dale glanced over and noticed a faint blush on her cheeks and thought to himself, 'I do believe she cares for that man. Irma, we may need to give them a little nudge.' He chuckled softly.

The next morning, Dale met up with Daryl, and they headed out for the woods. They had been walking for a while, when Daryl asked, "Ya really think this will work, old man?"

Dale nodded his head, opening his mouth to answer, when Daryl's hand shot up to still him. He stood as still as he could, wanting to ask why they had stopped but he could see the intense look on Daryl's face, and then suddenly he could hear leaves crunching and a soft moan as the male walker came out of the bushes. He watched as Daryl pulled his crossbow up and fired the bolt. It went right into the eye of the walker. Silently, he went and grabbed his arrow back, wiping the black blood from the tip onto his pants.

"How did you hear that?" said Dale, a surprised look on his face, as he met Daryl's intense gaze.

"Ya just gotta listen to everything around ya. I heard that walker, and I also can tell there is a small creek up to the right of this trail. By looking at the ground, I can tell that a fox went through here 'bout two-three hours ago. 'M glad ya didn't say anything though. Mighta riled that walker up if'n ya had."

"Well, I'm glad you're on our side. You really are at home in the woods. Aren't you, Daryl?" Dale was impressed. It showed in his expression.

"Yeah. It's the place I go to when I need a break from all the yappin' you people do. Gets on a man's nerves." Daryl's voice came out gruff and to the point. He wasn't one to beat around the bush.

Daryl started to walk again when he came up on the blackberry bush he had been searching for. Pulling his red rag from his back pocket, he started gathering the juicy fruit to take back to Carol. Once he had it filled, he muttered, "Well old man, it's getting late. Best be headin' back now.'

They started back the way they had come when Daryl stopped causing Dale to almost run into him. "So, if I leave these berries at the log that Carol sits on every evenin', she'll know they're from me?"

"I think if you leave them in you rag, she will. After she eats a few, that's when you can come up and ask her to go for walk with you in the woods." Dale looked over at Daryl, who was chewing at his thumbnail nervously.

"Uhh, a walk? I don't know. I don't think the woods is safe for Carol." Daryl's nervousness disappeared entirely, replaced with nothing but concern for Carol's safety.

"She will be fine with you, Daryl. I don't believe that you would let anything hurt her. Besides, I think it would help Carol to see how comfortable and good you are in these woods. She worries about you when you go out looking for Sophia." Dale watched Daryl out of the corner of his eye. He saw the telltale smirk of Daryl's when the man was happy. He realized then that there was a lot more to the man that they all assumed was a redneck.

They came out of the woods a few feet from Daryl's new camp. From there, they could see that Carol hadn't made her way to the log yet. Dale motioned for the younger man to go ahead and place the berries there to start his apology. "I'll go let the others know how the search went. Good luck, Daryl." He clapped the man on the shoulder and headed toward the larger camp.

Daryl stalked over to the log to set the berries down. His stomach erupted in what he could only equate to a hundred butterfly wings fluttering. He sat down so that he could hide what he was doing. Chewing at his thumbnail, he let himself get lost in thought. 'This is crazy. I shouldn't be doin' this. She's gonna think I'm stupid.'

Glancing around, he saw Dale stop Carol and talk to her for a few minutes. This gave him time to settle his nerves and finish up with the berries. He looked over, seeing the perfect place that he could watch her from. It was just under the cover of the trees.

Carol walked over to the log, holding tight to Sophia's doll. She liked coming here. It gave her solitude. She liked to talk to Sophia. It reminded her of one of Sophia's favorite stories about Winnie the Pooh and his thoughtful spot. Tears welled in her eyes. She brushed a fallen tear away just in time to look up. On the log was all too familiar red rag. She glanced around then moved to inspect it closer.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, just the stories that I come up with._

_I am sooooo sorry for taking so long, I had a massive case of writer's block which appears to have been cleared up with the awesome Caryl moments that we have had this season so far. Special thanks to untapdtreasure for helping me with this._

Carol looked down at the familiar red rag, seeing some of the plumpest blackberries she ever laid eyes on. 'Daryl must have forgotten this,' she thought to herself as she looked toward his camp but didn't see him. She knew he wasn't at their main camp. All she had wanted to do was sit there and think things over for a bit, but now the nervousness crept in. She knew how upset he'd been with her, and she didn't want him to think she was waiting on him.

From behind the tree where he was watching her, Daryl chewed on his thumb nervously. He was sure that Dale had been wrong. Carol hadn't sat down and relaxed. 'This ain't gonna work,' he thought to himself. He went back and forth with himself, doubting that anything good could come of this.

Then he heard Merle's gravelly voice, "C'mon Darylena. Stop bein' such a pussy. Step out there an' let the mouse see ya."

"Shut up, dickhead," Daryl spit out, not realizing he'd spoken out loud to his brother who wasn't really there. He saw Carol jump, almost dislodging the berries from the overturned log in hurry to leave the spot. "Hey! Stop!" He rushed forward, moving between her and her escape.

"I'm sorry, Daryl. I was just leaving. I don't want to bother you," Carol's voice, mousy and meek, barely rose over the distant cow's mooing in the pasture.

"Nah. Ain't what I was yellin' fer." He shuffled nervously from one foot to the other. His thumb shot out in the direction of the berries. "Yer leavin the berries?"

Carol looked down at them, a confused look on her face. "Well, I thought maybe you left them here accidently. You want me to take them to the group?" There was only a small handful, barely enough for one person, but she'd take them to the others if that's what he wanted.

"No. Umm, got 'em for you," he said, nervousness etched into his words. A slight blush started to creep up on his face.

Carol couldn't hide the look of surprise as it crossed her face. She had no idea why he was suddenly giving her berries and no one else, and it made the butterflies kick up in her belly. Something that happened often when he was around without no rhyme or reason. "I should probably share them with the others, don't you think? Wouldn't be right…"

"Well, if ya' like 'em, I can show you where I got 'em from, and we can get more for everybody," said Daryl quietly.

"Okay, Daryl. That'd be nice. It isn't far, is it? Also, I'm sorry about yesterday. I know you want to find Sophia, but you need to know how important you are to the rest of the group. You need to take care are of yourself, too." Carol felt the words rushing from her as she glanced away from him.

"Pfft. I can take care of myself, woman." Daryl's voice came out more gruffly than he'd intended. "'Sides if anyone is sorry it's me," he stuttered.

Carol looked up in shock that the fierce hunter had apologized to her. A small smile appeared on her face as she spoke timidly, "Let's go get those berries."

Daryl gave a shy nod. When he spoke, his voice held more confidence. "Now I'm gonna take ya' into the woods, so you gotta listen real careful to everything I say and don't go off by yourself. If'n ya'll want more, then come get me. I'll go with ya', 'kay?"

"The woods?" Carol stammered, suddenly feeling very uncertain.

"I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya' out there, okay?" He met her eyes, trying to calm her fears.

As they started for the woods, Carol stayed as close to Daryl as she dared so as not to make him uncomfortable. As soon as they stepped into the tree line, Carol noticed that Daryl's whole demeanor changed. He became more alert. She hadn't thought that was possible. He was more confident, but seemed more relaxed at the same time. He was in his element, and it showed. She became more confident just being with him.

They walked quietly for a bit when he suddenly stopped, Carol froze, whispering, "Daryl, what is it?"

He pointed ahead of them. Carol could hear the leaves rustling, and then suddenly a baby deer came through the bushes. She gasped, "Oh! It's so beautiful." When he glanced at her, noticed the hint of a smile on his lips. "How did you know that was coming?"

"Could hear it rustlin'. Didn't hear no moans or snarls. Knew it weren't no geek." He gave a slight shrug of his shoulder and indicated that she should keep up as they continued on.

"How do you know all this stuff? I swear I couldn't find my way back to the camp right now. How do you know what's okay to eat? How do you know what kind of tracks you're following?" Her curiosity was peaked, and she was eager to learn. It would call come in handy if she were ever to get separated from the group.

"When I was eight, I got lost in the woods. My old man wasn't the best. So one day after too much drinkin', he started smackin' me 'round. I took off, got turned 'round and was gone almost nine days. No one came lookin' fer me. No food, no water, nothin'. Had to take care of myself." He spoke matter-of-factly about the situation. He wasn't looking for pity. It just was what it was.

Carol's eyes started to fill with tears when she thought about him being a lost little boy in the woods with no one looking for him or even caring. She started to speak, but he cut her off with another hint of a smile and more of the story.

"Once I got home, I knew that nothin' like that was gonna happen again. Set out learnin' everything I could, but wanna know what the bitch of the situation was?' His eyes crinkled up as a sneer graced his face.

She didn't think anything worse could happen to a boy as young as eight. He must have been terrified in those woods all alone. Her heart went out to him. "What's that?" she asked as curiosity got the best of her.

"My itchy ass. I was so stupid. Wiped my ass with Poison Oak." He shook his head at what a dumb shit he'd been growing up.

Carol couldn't stop the laughter as it bubbled up and out. "You're joking right?" she managed to get out between fits of giggles.

"Nah, it was horrible. Just glad Merle was in juvie at the time. Never woulda heard the end of it." He shook his head back and forth slightly at the memory.

"C'mon. We best be hurryin' up. Get the berries and head back to the farm." Daryl glanced up at the sky, noting how the light had started to change. Didn't need them caught out in the woods if the sky opened up. "Looks like it might rain."

Carol glanced up at the sky. She frowned, not seeing what his seasoned eyes had already discovered. "Oh. I didn't notice."

"Pays to be observant," said Daryl with a smirk.

Carol grinned as they headed a little deeper and came across the blackberry bush. She quickly began to pull off the berries, careful to tug them gently as to not burst them as she placed them in the satchel that she always carried. "Thank you for bringing me out here today."

Suddenly a distant shouting was heard in the direction of the farmhouse. "That's Shane. What the hell?' C'mon,' he growled as they started running back through the woods toward the Greene farm. Terror gripped them, not knowing what they were going to find.


End file.
